The disproportionate impact of climate change on women and girls

A changing climate affects everyone, but it is the world’s poorest, and those in vulnerable situations, who bear the brunt of environmental, economic and social shocks. This means that the climate crisis intersects with gender issues: women and girls are often the most marginalised members of society, and therefore they often bear the brunt of climate change impacts.

In this blog, we’ll unpack why women are viewed as agents of change, who must be part of the solution towards a sustainable future. 

Climate change is an intersectional issue

The climate crisis is not operating in isolation, but is deeply intertwined with social and economic issues. The richest half of the world’s countries emit 86% of global CO2 emissions. In fact, from 1990 to 2015, the richest 1% of the world were responsible for 15% of cumulative CO2 emissions. This is more than twice the amount emitted by the poorest 50% of the world’s population. Despite this, it’s some of the poorest countries who feel the impacts of climate change most severely.

We must address these inequalities as part of our solution to tackling climate change. The climate movement is not only about protecting the planet, it is also about caring for the people who inhabit it and the quality of their lives.

Women are disproportionately affected by climate change 

Women’s increased vulnerability to climate change stems from a number of factors. Around  70% of the 1.3 billion people currently living in conditions of poverty are women. Additionally, although women often manage plots of agricultural land in each family for income or sustenance in developing countries, land titles are usually held by men. This means that, following an environmental disaster, many women cannot independently claim state-offered reconstruction funds. 

Women and girls across the world also tend to bear more responsibility for domestic duties. This means that as resources are depleted, or climate change drives an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, women and girls take on more work, fetching water, caring for their communities, and dropping out of school to help their families. In 25 sub-Saharan African countries, the combined time women spend collecting water each day is 16 million hours; compared to 6 million for men. 

The most disadvantaged people are also the most vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change, and face greater risks as clean water and sanitation systems become compromised. An analysis found that women and girls often face disproportionately high health risks from the impacts of climate change compared to men and boys. Those who carry children are also uniquely threatened by climate change’s impact on reproductive and maternal health. Climate change affects this in two main ways: it can raise health risks for expecting mothers and foetuses, and it can limit access to necessary reproductive and maternal health services.

Empowering women and girls is fundamental to building a better future

So often the conversation about this topic ends at acknowledging how women are disproportionately affected by climate change, and doesn’t address how empowering women and girls, and working towards gender equality can help us to tackle the climate crisis.

We need to avoid painting a picture of women and girls as only victims of climate change, and instead look to them as part of the solution, as farmers, educators, scientists, decision-makers and advocates. 

Making time for female farmers 

UN evidence indicates that if women had the same access to resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30%, raising total agricultural output in some countries by 2.5- 4%. 

Secure access to land is a basic right for farming, however in many places it’s more difficult for women to own land, and when they do it’s often smaller and less fertile plots. Less than 20% of the world’s landholders are women, and women represent fewer than 5% of all agricultural landholders in North Africa and West Asia. In sub-Saharan Africa, women do 48.7% of the agricultural labour, but only 15% of landowners are women. 

Globally women do, on average, 2.5 times more unpaid work than men and women and girls are responsible for water collection in 8 out of 10 households with water off premises. Solutions to decrease the domestic duties of women and girls can free up their time, allowing female farmers to invest more time in their farms if they chose, helping to reduce the gender gap in agricultural productivity. Solutions can be as simple as providing access to wells, reducing the distance women and girls have to travel to fetch water. 

Project Drawdown estimates that addressing inequality in agriculture could prevent 2 billion tonnes of emissions between now and 2050, and reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17%. 

Access to education 

Inequality is not just about money but it’s also about access to opportunities and the ability to make choices. An estimated 130 million girls worldwide are still denied the right to an education. Every additional year of primary school increases girls’ eventual wages by 10-20%. 

Key strategies to increase access to education for women and girls include making school affordable, helping girls overcome health barriers, reducing the time and distance to get to school, and making schools more girl-orientated. A key solution is to build more local schools. Globally, just 39% of rural girls attend secondary school (far fewer than boys at 45%). In Pakistan, a half-kilometre increase in the distance to school will decrease the enrolment of girls by 20%. 

Women as climate leaders 

Globally power is not shared equally between the genders. According to the UN, at  the current rate of progress, gender parity in national legislative bodies will not be achieved before 2063.  This gender gap is found throughout the world, however it is particularly large in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Arab states. 

Why does this matter for fighting climate change? If women are not included in climate decision making, their needs will not be provided for and existing inequalities will deepen. 

If we are to have a meaningful impact on tackling climate change, we need to give women a seat at the table.

We need to tackle injustice on all fronts

It is important to note that the experience of women in climate change is not homogeneous. Even with one country, women’s experiences vary greatly depending on race, class and a multitude of other issues. Those women who are more vulnerable and marginalised in society including women of colour, trans women and poorer women will typically be more affected by climate change.  

At Ecologi we support projects that support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, supporting an average of 5.3 goals per project over 2022. Many of our supported reforestation partners actively bolster our ambitions regarding gender empowerment by providing employment and training to women planters and supplying a sustainable and vital income stream for their work. 

Sign up to Ecologi today to start supporting projects that are helping to improve gender equality.